Shocking new images today laid bare the scale of the devastation in Syria wrought by months of civil war, with neighbourhoods flattened by multiple bombing raids.

The satellite photographs collected by Amnesty International reveal how parts of Aleppo, the country's largest city, were almost wiped out by missile strikes from government forces.

The two-year civil war has seen the destruction of many of Aleppo's historic monuments, as well as six million Syrians being forced to flee their homes after being caught in the crossfire between the regime and rebel fighters.

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Devastation: The Aleppo neighbourhood of Jabal Babro was largely flattened by a government bombing raid on February 18 this year

Contrast: Tariq al-Bab was a densely populated area before it was targetted by a regime air strike on February 22

A series of images compiled by Amnesty show how bomb attacks have spread through Aleppo between last September and May this year, with more and more of the city covered by the red dots which indicate areas of significant damage to buildings and infrastructure.

While both sides have been accused of atrocities, the evidence in Aleppo suggests that rebel-held areas in the north and east of the city have received the brunt of the damage as the regime bombards those neighbourhoods with little concern for civilian casualties.

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An analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in co-operation with Amnesty concluded that the scale of the destruction was 'severely lopsided', with opposition areas significantly worse affected than loyalist ones.

Much of the regime's firepower has been focussed on Aleppo because it is the rebels' main stronghold and could severely weaken the opposition movement if the government wrests control.

War: Ard al-Hamra was also hit by bombing on February 22, leading to vast swathes of the neighbourhood being totally laid waste

Irreplaceable: This image shows a satellite view of Aleppo's Great Mosque before and after its minaret was blown up during fighting in April

In total, half of the city's population has been displaced as a result of the fighting.

Amnesty pointed to three areas in particular which were almost totally destroyed by government air strikes in mid-February.

Satellite photographs of Jabal Badro, Tariq al-Bab and Ard al-Hamra show that whole blocks of houses have been wiped off the map. 160 residents of the area were killed in the raids, and hundreds more made homeless.

In addition, historic monuments such as the minaret of the city's Great Mosque have been demolished, despite the international laws on protecting culturally significant sites.

Start of conflict: During September last year, serious physical destruction - marked on this image with red dots - was confined to just a few areas

Development: Fighting in Aleppo raged fiercely, as this image from November indicates, with the regime desperate to evict rebels from their strongholds

'Aleppo has been utterly devastated, its people fleeing the conflagration in huge numbers,' said Amnesty's Donatella Rivera, who has visited Syria more than 10 times over the past 16 months.

'The risk cited one year ago regarding the devastating consequences of turning what was Syria's most populous city into a battlefield has become reality.

'Aleppo has been utterly devastated, many of its residents fleeing the bombardments in huge numbers and many others trapped in a city under fire and under siege in desperate humanitarian conditions.'

Despite repeated calls for both sides to respect internationally accepted rules of warfare, observers have noted serious war crimes on both sides, including the indiscriminate shelling of civilians and summary executions of prisoners of war.

Relentless: Aleppo in February this year, when much of the north and east of the city had been hit by bombing raids

Latest: By May, few parts of the city had escaped being severely damaged, with the devastation especially prevalent in areas held by the opposition

Christoph Koettl of Amnesty International USA said: 'The grave violations of international law in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria are a direct consequence of the international community's paralysis and delay in effectively condemning these crimes, and referring the situation to the world's criminal court of last resort.

'The images are a snapshot of a population under brutal siege as Amnesty's researcher on the ground has revealed over time.'

At least 100,000 people are believed to have been killed in the civil war which originated in protests against the autocratic regime of president Bashar Assad.

In addition, millions of refugees have been forced into tent cities within Syria and abroad as they seek to flee the fighting.